th
tH
# 81 JULY 18 , 2016
form. The student could
get written up for inappropriate behavior and would
be asked to use the polite form. But, not even the
worst students ever dare
go so far to use the “tu”
form with a teacher. The
use of “tu” in this case is
socially unacceptable, as it
would be inappropriate to
use the “tu” when talking
to a cashier, your grandfather’s friend, or to the lady
in front of you in the line at
# 81 juLY 18 , 2016
the movie theater.
“Lei” wasn’t always part of
the Italian language. If we
go all the way back to the
Romans, in fact, they used
the informal “tu”, or “you”
when referring to anyone
from Caesar to the slaves.
The polite form of “you”
didn’t even exist in ancient Rome. So the Italians
didn’t get it from the Romans, where did it come
from?
According to the Accademia della Crusca, the
most important institution
regarding the Italian language, “lei,” feminine pronoun, started to be used
in the 1500s when referring to the Italian lords as
“Vostra Signoria” which is,
indeed, a feminine noun.
From this expression, the
use of the female pronoun “lei” consolidated in
the 1600s and it became
used as a common formal expression
to show respect. However, since in this
same time period the Spanish settled in
Italy, many intellectuals believed that this
new pronoun, “lei,” was of a foreign origin. Therefore, many intellectuals of the
time did not accept “lei” and tried, unsuccessfully, to get rid of it. But, Italians
are stubbornly attached to their use of
this particular pronoun.
unpopularity in many parts of Italy created a backlash towards “voi,”and as soon
as Fascism fell Italians went back to using
their beloved “lei.”
The “lei” form isn’t just a courteous pleasantry; it is an expected part of life in
Italy. Just to drive home the point, if
an old woman crashed into your car it
would be expected that you might curse at her for wrecking your beautiful new
In the late 1930s, Mussolini and the Fa- Fiat 500, but as long as you used the “lei”
scist Regime tried again to get rid of the form it would be culturally acceptable to
“lei” form, and ordered the entire popu- tell that old lady off.
lation to use the alternate version of “lei:”
“voi” or “you all.” However, the Regime’s
80 | WE THE ITALIANS
WE THE ITALIANS | 81
www.wetheitalians.com
www.wetheitalians.com